Women’s volleyball (7-5, 2-1 Ivy) conquered two Ivy League competitors this weekend, defeating both Princeton (7-4, 2-1 Ivy) and Penn (6-7, 0-3 Ivy). After sweeping Princeton 3-0 on Friday, the team stormed back from an 0-2 deficit to defeat Penn in five sets on Saturday. This historic weekend marked the team’s first ever sweep at Princeton, and their first reverse sweep since 2022.
On Friday, the Bears broke a three-game losing streak against the Tigers with a dominant three-set win, ending the sets 25–17, 25–21 and 25–16.
Sophia Wolfson ’28, who earned Ivy League Player of the Week, secured the first kill of the match with a spike that shot to the ground past the arms of a diving Princeton defender. Cementing Bruno’s early momentum, Wolfson immediately followed up with an ace.
Just a few points later, Mariia Sidorova ’26 painted the back line with a serve that sailed over the heads of the Princeton defenders. She followed it up with a second consecutive ace to push Brown’s lead to 6-3.
“I think the team looked great on the serving line,” Sidorova wrote in an email to The Herald.
“It definitely played a huge role for us this weekend, and I’m glad I was able to contribute.”
After the Bears clinched the first set 25-17, Hannah Flannery ’26 carried Bruno’s prowess at the service line into the second, racking up 4 aces to help the Bears stay ahead in a close second set. After the Tigers held off three set points by Brown, Ally Panzloff ’27 closed the second set with a spike from the left side that sailed out off a block by Princeton.
Even though they started the final set down 1-2, the Bears were quickly able to pull ahead, claiming a 16-6 lead. The Tigers fired back, launching an impressive 7-2 streak that narrowed the lead to 20-16, but when push came to shove, Brown rallied. Winning 4 points in a row, the Bears set up match point. With the chance to ice the game, Wolfson fired a spike through a gap in the middle of the Tigers’ defense to secure the sweep for Brown.
Head Coach Taylor Virtue credits the sweep to a “great week” of preparation.
“Our focus was to win the serve and pass game, and to manage our offense when we were in medium and bad situations,” she wrote in an email to The Herald. “Our entire team did a great job with both of those goals which ultimately led us to a win.”
On Saturday, the Bears traveled to Philadelphia, where they fought a five-set battle against Penn. In an impressive reverse sweep, they were able to come back from an 0-2 hole to win the match 3-2 with a 18–25, 21–25, 25–22, 25–21, 15–10 victory.
Despite competitive showings in the first two sets, the Bears found themselves down by two sets against the Quakers. Prior to the matchup against Penn, the Bears had an 0-20 match record when losing the first two sets under Virtue’s leadership.
But the team didn’t let this shake them, even when Penn secured an 8-3 lead to start the third set. The Bears shifted the momentum with a 5-0 streak that included 2 kills and a block by Sarah Shaw ’29, and 2 impressive digs by two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Jessie Golden ’26.
After evening the score at 8-8, Brown went point-for-point against the Quakers to bring the score to 20-20. Pulling ahead, Panzloff delivered back-to-back pinpoint kills, putting Brown just one point away from winning the set. Though Penn warded off one set point, the Quakers had no answer for a brilliant spike from Shaw to the wide-open left corner, securing the critical set for the Bears.
“I think a big part of what changed is we made an intentional choice to come together after the second set,” Panzloff wrote in an email to The Herald. “I have a lot of trust in the people around me, so I feel comfortable trying to execute in big moments.”
She also credited Sidorova and Golden’s “reliable” serve receives, and leadership by Wolfson and Bella Bonatakis ’26 for keeping everyone “level and focused” after losing the first two sets.
Falling behind 9-16 in the fourth set, it looked like the incredible third set might have been for naught. But with their backs against the walls, the Bears fought back. Revived by an incredible 9-2 streak, Brown evened the score at 18-18. Following an ace on the back line by Sidorova, back-and-forth play brought the score to 21-21.
The Bears closed the set with a 4-point streak that included 2 kills by Elizabeth Sessa ’28, a block by Shaw, and a set-point error by Penn to even the match score 2-2.
In the deciding fifth set, the Bears jumped to an early lead with 3 aces from Yuna Yang ’27, and maintained the upper hand to reach match point at 14-10. With the comeback victory in sight, Sidorova served to Penn, whose ensuing attack was met by a perfectly timed block from Julia Kakkis ’28 and Wolfson — sealing the win for Brown.
Virtue credited the comeback to “two big shifts” during the match against Penn: an adjustment to the team’s blocking scheme and increased serving pressure which “kept Penn off balance.”
“This past weekend we showed a lot of grit, in both a relatively seamless win against Princeton and a very tough fought win against Penn,” Virtue wrote. “We will be able to lean on those experiences as we head to New York this weekend.”
“Going from a sweep on Friday to a reverse sweep on Saturday gives us confidence in our ability to play through moments when the volleyball isn’t flowing perfectly,” Panzloff wrote.
The Bears have another Ivy double-header this weekend, facing off against Cornell on Friday and Columbia on Saturday.
Panzloff said that the match against Cornell will be an “exciting test” for the team, as the Big Red are currently ranked first in the conference. After losing their first Ivy match-up against Yale last week, Brown currently stands at third in the Ivy League.
